Liberandi
by BananaSwirl
Summary: When Mako is eight, he decides he is too old to cry. When Mako is eight, he knows enough to realize that the old times were over with.


**...I don't know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra**

* * *

Mako tried not to think about it, but he did anyway. He could still imagine holding Dad's hand as he died and he shuddered at the thought of seeing his mother crawl desperately towards him, her mouth opened and her hands outstretched. Part of him wanted to cry, but crying was for babies and he wasn't a baby anymore. He was eight years old.

But then his eyes would well up and he would pull Bolin closer to him, who was only concerned with playing with his toys. He was only six and he hadn't been there. He hadn't seen their parents die. He had only seen Mako scrambling back into the house, locking the door behind him and running into their room. They had only been gone for a few minutes and Bolin had been taking a nap.

Mako wished he hadn't persuaded his mom to come with them when she had supposed to be watching Bolin. He wished he hadn't pulled on her leg and used his best puppy gaze, but he had. It was hard to believe it was only three days ago.

The door was still locked and Mako was still scared. He cut fruit in slices as best as he could and fed Bolin, who asked when Mom and Dad were coming back. _"Never!"_ Mako wanted to say, "_They aren't coming back!"_ But he didn't. Instead, he made sure Bolin stayed away from the windows and played Crash the Airship with him.

* * *

On the third day, there was a knock on the door. Mako peeked under the crack of the door, seeing heeled boots and he opened it. There was a woman there, with wavy, thick black hair and tanned skin. She smiled when Mako swung the door open and he noticed that her teeth were white.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Bolin ran around the corner, his arms outstretched and juice dripping from his face. He skidded to a halt, crashing into Mako and throwing himself around his older brother's legs. "That's not Mom." He said and peeked out at the woman.

She smiled and kneeled down to Mako's level. He could see a badge on her dark jacket that read Orphaned and Abandoned Children's Agency. "Hi, there," She said and held out her hand. Mako took it and he discovered that it was soft, and smooth. "I'm Sekki. What's your name?"

Mako cleared his throat. "I'm Mako. And this is my little brother Bolin." He couldn't pull his eyes away from those golden words on her badge, though. _Orphaned and abandoned. _Bolin clutched his hand and Mako looked back up at the woman.

The pretty woman, Sekki, tilted her lips upward in a smile. "Those are nice, strong names." She looked past Mako's shoulder and he could guess what she was going to say next. "Where are your parents, Mako? Does anyone live here with you? This is an awful lot of house for just the two of you."

He couldn't bring himself to reply, but his throat had sealed shut anyway. Mako looked away and that seemed to please Sekki. She stood and patted his head. "Well, Mister Mako, I work with a group of people who can help you? Would you like that? I'll come back tomorrow, alright, and I'll knock twice. Don't answer the door for anyone else, okay?"

Mako nodded and then Sekki left, smiling before closing the door behind her. "Mako," Bolin said and tugged on his arm, "Can I have some more juice? It missed my mouth." He said and smiled. He was missing two teeth. "Or I think the floor stole it."

And as she promised, Sekki returned the next day. She knocked twice, once loudly and once quietly, and Mako opened the door. She held up a bag that smelled of nice things and stepped inside, smiling. "I bought some good food for you two, do you like dumplings?"

She sat at the table across from Mako, placing a disposable bowl of steaming hot dumplings and vegetables in front of him and Bolin. "Go ahead, eat up." She said and flashed her winning smile again, pulling out a small notebook. "I want to ask you a few questions, Mako, okay? How long have your parents been gone? Do you have any relatives you could live with?"

"Four days." Mako said quietly and he was glad she didn't ask him _where_ they had gone, or what had happened to him. He thought she already knew, because she seemed to know a lot about these types of things. "And they're all far away. We have an auntie in the Fire Nation and another in Ba Sing Se, but we don't know them that well."

Sekki nodded and scribbled something on her notebook. "Hmm…and you're eight years old? Bolin is…six?" Mako nodded and Bolin grinned. "Are you benders?" She asked and put her elbow on the table, resting her chin in the cup of her left hand.

Mako nodded again. "I'm a firebender. We learned that Bolin was an earthbender when he was five." He said quietly. "Why do you need to know all of this?" He asked and Sekki smiled.

"I care about your welfare, Mako. I want to make sure you and your brother are safe." Sekki stood, "Do you know what adoption is, Mako? Do you think that you would be happier if you were sent to live with another family, who could take care of you, at least for a little while?"

For a moment, Mako didn't know what to say. "It depends." He said finally and Sekki moved towards the door. He didn't want another family. He just wanted his mom and his dad back, so they could all go out to the park and play around. Mako wanted to ride on Dad's shoulders again.

But those times were never coming back and he knew it.

* * *

A man came with Sekki the next day and he brought a new toy for Bolin. Mako saw Sekki exchange sad looks with him multiple times and he knew they were thinking about "adoption". He and Bolin were in the care of the Orphaned and Abandoned Children's Agency, now, and the agency would find them a happy family.

But Sekki looked sad and when she left the house for the day, Mako pressed his ear against the door. In one hand was the slice of mango that Sekki had helped him cut, but she didn't do it like Mom. When Mom did it, she cut the fruit into stars and squares. Mako still wore his Dad's scarf and it felt like he was drowning in it, but it made him feel safe, too.

"Poor little guys," Mako heard Sekki say and her heels were pressed against the door. "We're working so hard to find them a family. It's a shame, though. They need each other so much. It's a shame we'll have to separate them, there's no other choice. There's just no other families approved by the Agency that can or will take two little boys. Especially two little benders."

The man's gruff voice followed Sekki's. "Bolin would probably get adopted quickly. He's six years old and has a sweeter personality than Mako. It's really a shame when we can't put two siblings in the same family. Unless we schedule routine meetings, but it wouldn't be the same."

They were going to take Bo away from him. They were going to take the only family he had left away from him and give him to another family. They were going to tear them apart. Mako moved backwards, crawling across the room to where Bolin sat.

He wasn't going to let them take Bo away from him. He _couldn't. _"Bobo," Mako said and pulled on his younger brother's chubby hand. "Get two of your favorite toys and your dragonpiggy bank." He whispered, "We're going on an adventure."

"An adventure?" Bolin repeated and beamed. Mako swallowed and nodded. "Will it be fun, Mako?" The young boy asked and looked up at his younger brother. He pushed himself to his feet, moving towards their bedroom. "Just two?"

Mako nodded. "It's a secret adventure, so we can't take a lot of stuff." He said and looked towards the door. No, he decided, the window would be better. It would be harder, but no one would see them. He wished for the billionth time that Mom and Dad were with them, but he _wasn't _going to cry.

_Leave now._ Something told him and Mako thought it sounded like the voice of his dad. _Leave now and don't let them take you. Keep your brother safe._ Mako brushed his hand by his ear and cleared his throat, throwing his gaze towards the door.

Bolin was in the room, standing near the window and looking down at the streets below. It was quiet-not many people traveled that way-and paper lanterns hung from the wires at the top of the houses. Mako entered the room, seeing his little brother holding two of his toys in one hand and his dragonpiggy bank-laden down with coins and other things-in the other.

Mako cleared his throat and moved towards the window. Mom and Dad had always kept it locked and he didn't know where the key was. He would have to break it. "Stand back, Bobo," He said and tried to remember how to make fire. Breathing. That was it, he had to breathe and focus.

There was the flare of a small orange flame and Mako held it there, trying to expand it. _Grow,_ he thought, _why can't it grow? _And then he thrust out his fist towards the window, wanting to scream but knowing it would scar Bolin.

The fireball slammed into the window, shattering it and raining crystal pieces down onto the empty street below. Bolin whimpered at the loud noise and Mako could hear the front door opening. _No! _He wanted to shout, but he didn't. Instead, he grabbed Bolin's arm and threw them across his neck. Bolin, getting the hint, leaped onto his back and dropped one of his toys.

The sharp, warm edges of the shattered window scraped against Mako's arms and he wanted to cry out as a thin line of blood welled out, but he didn't because then he was a falling, _falling_, and Bolin was suddenly in front of him, his smaller hand clutching Mako's as if it was the only thing keeping him safe, and perhaps it was.

"Mako!" Mako heard Sekki cry as they hit the ground. Mako fell first, his shoulder smashing into the hard street and he wanted to burst into tears, but he didn't. Bolin landed on top of him, clutching his coin container tightly against his chest. Mako scrambled to his feet as he heard the words, "Go get them!" come from above.

_No, no, no!_ He thought and grabbed Bolin before the younger boy could scoop up his toy. "We have to go, Bolin!" Mako said and ran forward, down the street even though he had no idea where they were going to go. "We have to run, or they're going to stop us from going on our adventure!"

And they ran.


End file.
